In substrate processing apparatuses that perform the plasma etching or the like on the semiconductor wafer, when a process abnormality or failure occurs, an operator monitors the status of the substrate processing apparatus by checking a view window (a view port) or a screen of the apparatus, and performs the repair or the like. In this kind of work, for the purpose of reliably and rapidly judging the result of the process or investigating the failure of the process, a substrate processing apparatus has been suggested, which collects information such as temperature, a gas flow rate, pressure, frequency, and RF power generated during the processing of the substrate, calculates the collected information and stores at least one of the collected information or calculated result.
However, the information visually obtained through the view window or the apparatus screen is limited. Further, the suggested apparatus does not disclose how to utilize the stored information for the work such as a repair work by an operator.
Further, recently, the size of the substrate processing apparatus has been increasing while the configuration thereof becomes complicated as the size of the semiconductor wafer is enlarged. Such increase in size of the substrate processing apparatus makes the work such as a repair maintenance, and inspection more increased and complicated. Especially, the operator has been experiencing difficulties to accurately understand the detailed configuration of the apparatus. Further, when the operator refers a manual or checks a configuration of the apparatus by operating a mobile computer or the like during work, it is hard to increase the work efficiency. In addition, if the operator does not have enough information on an area where the substrate processing apparatus is located, other apparatuses or machines may pose danger to the operator, e.g., hitting by an unmanned apparatus.